NYC Subway Guide

Big Brother's Watching (Maybe)

The NYPD may have made a big mistake by reducing manned surveillance at certain key locations. There has been a police officer at entrances to under river tubes for years now. These locations had a live person guarding the tubes 24 hours per day. The police department decided to change their "routine" by removing personnel from these key locations for part of the day and have them "roam" around the system. While it is a good idea to have the police travel around the system, it is imperative to have some presence at under river tubes at all times.

This is not only to act as a deterrent to terrorists but to also act as a safety measure for all riders. A man was recently killed by a G train in an under river tube between the Greenpoint Ave and 21st Street/Van Alst stations. According to witnesses, the man simply wandered into the tube from the Greenpoint station and later hit by a northbound G train. Could this have been prevented? We may never know but an officer manning the post set up at that location would most likely have seen the man. That man would have had a chance.

A bigger concern is the fact that train operators can no longer rely on finding a police officer at these locations in an emergency. If there is an incident happening on a particular train, then there is a good chance that a train operator will be unable to find help there. For example, a southbound E train operating on the local track at 2:30 am has a fight break out and there are weapons (let's say a knife) involved. The train makes a station stop at 36 St. For years the crew on board knew they could go 1 more stop to Queens Plaza and find an officer manning his/her post there. But with the new NYPD policy, there is no longer any certainty of finding anyone there. This is only one example. This situation is much more common than anyone will admit and the public should know that help might be further away than before. Criminals should also note that police may no longer be visible in their usual locations but maybe they should look over their shoulder instead.

posted by Slim @ 12:39 AM